Germany's economy may be starting turnaround: ZEW

ToddBuell

MANNHEIM, Germany--A measure of German economic confidence improved for the first time in nearly a year, sharply beating expectations and signaling that the country's economic fortunes may be starting to turn around after months of concerns about Europe's largest economy.

The ZEW institute warned, however, that conditions remain uncertain and signaled that global flash points remain a concern.

The ZEW lead expectations indicator was 11.5 in November, after -3.6 in October. It was the first increase in the index since December of last year. It strongly beat economists' expectations of a rise to 0.9 in a Dow Jones survey of analysts.

"The recent growth figures for the euro area suggest that the economy is stabilizing," said ZEW President Clemens Fuest in a news release. "However, the economic environment remains fragile, not least due to ongoing geopolitical tensions."

The data follow publication of economic output numbers for Germany. Figures released Friday by the country's statistics office showed Europe's largest economy grew by 0.1% on the quarter in the third quarter, in line with expectations.

The ZEW indicator of current conditions rose to 3.3 in November from 3.2 in the previous month.

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